Birthday and Beach!

Allie's birthday finished up great!  She had a few of her friends come to the deck for a slime party.  She and Julia have a slight slime obsession so they were both in heaven and Julia was happy to be an assistant with her friend Addie.  They did a great job!

We also had buckets of water beads.  Within minutes, they were in the buckets.  Just cannot get enough of the sensory experience!

Julia and Addie helped make the birthday brownies- oreo on one side, peanut butter M&Ms on the other.  

When her friends left, Allie didn't realize she hadn't opened any gifts from us!  She was excited about her pedal bike and by the next day she could ride it fairly well.  I was pretty surprised, considering how cautious she is.  Having that balance bike enabled her to skip the training wheels and made the transition a piece of cake!

As the birthday excitement settled down, we geared up for our Mom/kid beach trip.  The kids did great on the ride down.  Gray snuck this picture while I ran into the grocery store on our way in.

By afternoon, our friends had arrived.  We didn't have Robyn's oldest, but otherwise, all the neighborhood "adoption group" kids were there.  Yes, we knew we were taking a risk here.  It's still the times of coronavirus and though we had seen these families outside on an almost daily basis, we had not been hanging out inside at all.  This was a conscious choice to envelop each other into our "covid pod" and just be normal for a week.  The first thing us moms did was give each other long overdue hugs.  It was just so good to not worry about quarantine for a few days!

We went right down to the beach after an early dinner and made the kids take the obligatory age order group photo.  Then they were released to play.

There were girl chats.

There was some game where Gray took the football and everyone else tried to get it.

These girls were so happy to have days and days together ahead. 

When everyone was in the ocean, we did a lot of just watching them, both out of concern for their safety and because it was so fun to see them play together.  We also did lots of counting kids!

Gray spent most of this trip covered from head to toe in either water or sand or both.  He also chose the dog bed as his sleeping arrangement.

The next day there was more beach in the morning.  Allie's little birthday party crew flocked together to play in the sand. 

It was fun to see the different groups of kids enjoying hanging out.

These two goofballs stuck together a lot.

This day, we went out for a second time.  We were beginning to get into a rhythm of sending Lisa down on the "rickshaw" bike with the kids that could get ready a little faster.  Usually Kim and I brought up the rear with Allie and Molly, in various states of mood, sometimes on their bikes, on foot, or on scooters. 

These girls really bonded and had so much fun jumping off the ledge that had formed all up and down the beach that evening.

This ledge was as tall as Allie and could be a challenge to some of us.  Many of us slid/fell down or up it throughout the week.  

These two spent a ton of time together, building their sweet friendship, with just a touch of romantic moments.  ;)

Speaking of romantic moments, Caleb is always responsible and ready to set Allie straight when she goes off track.  :)  It's adorable.  

Us moms did a lot of mom-ing this week...cooking, cleaning, managing, sunscreening, counseling, carrying, washing kids, doing laundry, and whatever else is involved with keeping a household of 20 running and happy!  But the times we could sit and watch our kids and chat made it all worthwhile.

We even managed to settle the older kids upstairs with a movie, the younger kids downstairs with Allie's beloved Frozen 2, and sneak off to the middle floor pullout couch to watch our own movie- Crazy, Rich Asians.  

These friends are so crucial to my sanity and such a gift!

Speaking of mom-ing the crew...this is how we did dinner.  Get it cooked and put various amounts of the main dish on a bazillion plates, then let the kids go through and grab a plate and vegetables.  It was amazingly super smooth.

This is snack time on the beach.  There was an exorbitant amount of snacking this trip.  As you'd expect.

This is what it looks like to take 16 kids to Sweet Spot for ice cream.  We all wore our masks and went in by family.  Again, surprisingly pretty smooth.

This is the only pic I got of my 4 together.  They did do things together but also with their friends, which kept their arguments to a minimum.

From our walk to ice cream, we headed to the pier.  The older kids were so great with helping out the younger ones on long walks or in the ocean.

These girls were spotted hugging by the social distancing sign.  

The pier was a big hit, particularly when the kids spotted a medium-sized shark that had been caught on the deck below.  One of them said, "Just when I thought my day couldn't get better."  That's kind of how it felt to me most days of our trip.  We would have a great time on the beach, enjoy beach house time playing games, then end our day watching, more often than not, "The Middle", which I find hilarious and the kids did too.  Every day was just such a good day, ending in laughter and smiles.

These three stooges are something else.  They sometimes argue, sometimes shout, sometimes wrestle, but always come back together, happy to be friends.

More beach fun...that is Gray down there under the sand.  He then started a series of sand burying of other children.

Yes, he wanted everything but his nose and mouth under the sand.

More beach fun- Sharks and Minnows on our last day.

These two put in a lotttt of time together.

Beach house fun... All the kids had just as much fun at the house as on the beach.  There were pretend games, long conversations about all sorts of things, games of Uno and bananagrams, parties in Allie's playpen, basketball, tv watching, oh- and of course snacking.  

On the last day, I brought Joshua's phone down to take some pictures on the beach in portrait mode.  I  always take a little too many, but it's one of my favorite things to do there!  The last night, some of the kids helped make breakfast for dinner and the moms ended the night with a kid-free chat on the deck after everyone went to bed.  We woke and cleaned and packed and cleaned some more and headed home.  What a great trip we had!  And now it's time to embrace the changes ahead.  I start orientation for my new job Monday and the kids at my school start the following week.  I'm still not quite sure what my duties will be in this quarter of virtual learning.  And I'm still not quite sure how it's going to work when my kids start their virtual quarter and we're all logging on to our meetings all day.  I'm sure we're going to have some stories to tell when this is all over!  For now, trying to take it one day at a time and feeling thankful for the memories of this strange, but good summer and for the people we've gotten to share it with.  

Allie Birthday Quotes...one for the grandparents (long) :)

Today Allie is five.  She's having a great day.  She requested sausage balls and mozzarella sticks for breakfast and got to watch a show while I finished teaching.  She Facetimed with Mimi and opened gifts of cds, Frozen 2, lip gloss and crafts.  Mimi made her an adorable limerick card about Allie and a unicorn.  Joshua gave her a plastic card from an arcade or something that said "Fun Card" and was her ticket to go in the attic and choose one of his stuffed animals to have.  Gray made her a scavenger hunt to find her gifts of a unicorn headband he made from her cake topper from last birthday and a coupon to go to Food Lion and choose some treats.  He then walked her down there and successfully brought her back with juice, gum, and candy.

She is now playing with Julia and a friend and looking forward to having a couple kids from our circle of friends come to make slime outside tonight.  She also got to celebrate with Nanny and Pa the other night.

In honor of her birthday, I wanted to read in her notebook some quotable quotes...It's kind of crazy how I don't remember any of these.  After watching some home videos of the boys when they were little, Joshua commented that he guessed Allie never had that stage of baby talk.  Of course she did, but I think none of us remember it!

Age 2:

Her reaction when pulling out a book she had previously torn:  (very concerned look) "Oh gosh!"

If she's mad at a sibling, she will tearfully say, "Ask Mommy!" (i.e. I'm telling on you)

I sat down to read to her but she held her hand to my mouth and said, "MY read...listen!"

Overheard Julia trying to do school with her.  Julia: "7 + 3 + 4 = 14"; Allie:  "I toot toot."

She yelled out, "Stop the clock!" at the boys' basketball game.

She went to a friend's birthday and learned that it would be her own birthday in July.  She woke the next morning and said, "I eat yodurt (yogurt).  Not icing.  Icing in Julife."

I was singing and clapping and she pointed to my hands and said, "Not this one wight here.  Just mouth."

I was frustrated while working on something and responded in a snappy way.  She said, "What's your problem?"

At the store she held onto a jar and a bottle of sauce and said, "This my coffee.  This my beer."

She loved when Matt held her and Julia together and said, "Look, Mom.  We us."

She calls Joshua and Gray her boys.  "I miss my boys."  "My boys come back."

Was talking to Joshua about nicknames.  Joshua said, "You are Allison."  She said, "You are Crab."

She was pointing to people with her arms outstretched and saying "Weedo! Weedo!" (Weirdo)  I told her that's rude and she said, "Just say quiet?" and made her hands come in a little closer and her voice quieter.  I told her no, still rude and she said, "Sorry guys."

Age 3:

Told me, "Brush yours hair Mom.  It's a mess."

"I Daddy.  I charge."

"Can you tell Raven stop making that noise?  I tryin pay attention!" (She was just eating breakfast.)

"I Mommy.  You baby.  I read this book at you." (to Matt)

"Stop bein' 'rruptin'!  I tryin talk at you!" (to me...I was just brushing my teeth!)

"Baby, you scared of thunder and lightning? You need some M&M's?" (to Mimi)

to Gray "I love you but you need take a shower."

She had a grumpy day at school and was grumpy on the way home.  We arrived home and Matt met us in the driveway.  He and I opened her door to find her chewing a library book.  I fussed and she angrily said, "Daddy put it in my mouth!"

While trying to talk about a skunk:  "Stunk...sfunk... I can't tell it!!!"

After Joshua tried to tickle her belly, "Stop! I wearin' my pants so my underwear don't fall out!"

(Man singing on radio) "Who's singing this song?...Maybe Jesus."

(About her blanket) "I need it.  I love it so bad!"

to Matt: "I not bigger yet.  When I'm big like you, I get Mommy to hold me because she's short."

"Can't have too much dessert.  Just one amount, right Mom?" Or your stomach ache will get set up, right Mom?"

(After tattling and I told her she's not the parent) "Well I'm a little bit a parent." (Me: No, not at all) "Well I'm 3 and 3's are big, so...."

(When I told her time for nap) "Well, I wanted yogurt and I didn't have any, so....yeah."

Age 4:

We were leaving Food Lion and saw 2 kids in the parking lot.  I told her I didn't know who they were.  She said, "I don't know either, but the one in the green shorts is my best friend."

to Matt:  "I'm 4, wight?"  Matt: "yes"  Allie: "What's your number?"

After spraying water around the room:  "Mmm.  Smells like water in here!"

Gray was spinning the globe looking for a city in China.  She went over and spun it and said, "I'm looking for Earth."

"Fancy girls wear a lot of lips on the lips, right?"

She learned how to make the "I love you" sign in sign language at school but told everyone it meant bye-bye in Spanish.

After days of listening to Curious George on cd by H. A. Rey, she adds a little something to the end of her sentences.  For example, while playing with Joshua:  "You cannot come in my house...by H. A. Rey."

When I told her GrandGene was coming and he likes her.  "Yeah.  He likes me so much.... I don't know why."

"Gray, I want one of your lollipops with a stick and a little trash on the top."

She had been learning about plants at school and then we were reading Madeline stories at home.  She was "reading" it to me but stopped at Ms. Clavel.  She thought her name was too hard and said, "I'm just going to call her Chlorophyll."

After a grumpy weekend:  "Mommy, I got my love back!  'Cause I lost it and now I got it back!"

"I have tried mold before and it was just perfect.  It was salty."

Insisted to Matt, "It's not 5 golden rings, it's ONION RINGS!"

"Gray, don't catch your sore throat on me!"

"I have a little bit of milk in my nickels, because I have a real baby and my baby's hungry.  I have to put my shirt down like this so my baby can breathe."

"Are you getting a baby?" (in my belly) "I'm gettin' Jesus."

We overheard Allie reciting the Tide slogan in her own way:  "If it's gotta be clean, it's gotta be washed."

Julia:  "Ow, I bit my tongue."  Allie:  "I bit my ear one time and it still hurts."

When I was making eggs and some got on my hand:  "You got milk on your hand.  That gooey stuff is from the inside of a cow."

to me:  "You're the best grocery storer ever cause you got this ice cream."

"Raven, you can't go outside 'cause you will run away and then you'll probly get a disease.  Why does Raven potty outside?  If I go potty outside, I'll get grass on my butt."

(after Gray threw a ball at her) "You're my least favorite child!"

"I wish roaches weren't real and I wish unicorns were real and I wish bad people weren't real and good people were real and I also wish big ants weren't real.  And flies."

Week 17...a celebration, some broken things, and some long awaited good news

We got some pictures back from Gray and Julia's week at camp.  They had a wonderful time!  Both agreed that their favorite part was the 'red shark' banana boat ride.  They loved all the water activities and just fun times with their group in their cabins.  We got them back on July 4th morning.  Everything during pickup went as smoothly as drop off and they kept all the parents apart and outside.  I'm so glad they got to go.  They definitely want to go back next year.  Gray wants to go for 2 weeks! 

We got home with the kids and needed to get right to family July 4th lunch at Stacy's.  It was hot and the middle ones were pretty tired, but the food was great and we enjoyed being with family.  Oh, and Emoni's new puppy kept the kids happy!  Such a cutie.

Yes, the middle ones were worn out....

In fact, Gray fell asleep after dinner and I could barely get him up for evening festivities.

Before our friends came for s'mores and fireworks, we finished up painting this bench that Matt crafted from his old truck box.  Lots of projects during quarantine!!

We loved using the patio with two neighbor families that we have seen often during quarantine.  It's hard to know what's okay to do and what's not, but we've gradually moved to spending outside time with the same group of families that our kids spend time with.  We had a fire, played, made s'mores, and then...

...we broke out the fireworks.  So fun!  They seemed to go on for quite awhile to me, but the next day Gray insisted they only lasted minutes and we needed more next year.  He even had me take him to Food Lion and Walmart to check for fireworks he could buy, but alas, they were all sold out.

Camp buds, back together again...

After the weekend's festivities, we had some normal things to attend to.  All 4 kids had checkups between Monday and Tuesday.  Back when I scheduled them, I thought, "Oh July.  Everything will be back to normal in July."  Umm....

The kids did great with their masks and girls were a big comfort to each other for their shots.  After seeing big sister handle hers with ease, Allie sat through two shots, holding Julia's hands and didn't make a bit of a fuss.  Our little one weighs 30 pounds now!  She's not on the charts for weight or height, but we are happy she is growing on her own curve.  The boys have grown a lot, particularly Joshua, whose weight lifting contributed to him jumping up quite a bit on the charts.  Thankful for good reports for everyone!

This was a week of things not going right, taking things for repairs, spending time on customer service calls, and reminded me of the brokenness of this life, as has been common in 2020.  Most of the issues are just minor inconveniences with our "stuff"- a bike with a part bent into the back wheel so that it's unusable, a new phone that required lots of time and several tries to get set up, lost home videos due to a broken hard drive.  They are not a big deal but just have made me a little crazy.   There are other things too, hard things that friends are going through that are made even harder with all the difficulties this year has brought.  And more and more people around here are getting the virus, making it harder for folks in charge to know what to do next, particularly about school.  Life is just a mess for so many.   Hopefully next week we will get some definites about school plans so I know when and how I will go back to work and the kids to school.  In the meantime, our kids are living the life in spite of most of their activities being canceled and few places we can go.  They are getting outside tons and bonding with friends.  We are thankful for the memories they are building this crazy summer.  Also, Matt started his new job this week and he is enjoying being home every night!  He's learning a lot so far and having steady work each day.  We are so glad that he can adjust to a normal schedule.

And best of all, we got some great news this week in my extended family.  My sister's family, who have been waiting for years to adopt from Haiti, finally received their referral- an adorable 3 1/2 year old boy.  Another example of brokenness, but also redemption that comes when we say yes to loving others the way Jesus does- radically.  We can't wait to meet him one day!!

Weeks 15 and 16...Hot fun in the summertime, even in quarantine

We've been finding all sorts of ways to pass the time and beat the heat...

Well, some of us are still making use of winter coats.  

We finally had a patio night and enjoyed cooking dinner, smores, and trying apples in the fire for the first time.

No pool?  Buckets are fine.  With snacks.  

Hammocks have been a hit too.  These girls hang out every afternoon.

We also broke out some paint for a screen porch activity.

Serious negotiations going on...they love to trade their stuff.  Sometimes they even get back their own stuff from a previous trade.  

Matt had the boys help him build a wall in the garage for bike/lacrosse storage.

The boys had a day at the shooting range with Matt and loved it.

Allie loves when the others play with her.  Fort-building is high on her list of indoor activities.  These two together = all the potty humor, silliness, and snuggles one could ask for.  Except when she gets mad at him and shouts things like, "You are not my favorite child!"

A night out!!  We sure did love watching The Greatest Showman outside with friends.  This is one to keep trying even when we don't have to stay out of each other's houses!  It was Allie's first time seeing the movie though she's been really into the music for awhile.  (Side note, you haven't lived till you've seen her do "Never enough" with conviction...and possibly a transition into several other songs at any given moment.  Gotta get that on film.)

We have all spent time at the park this week.  The boys have been going every day, but more recently, all the kids have merged into one group for capture the flag.  We're talking 2nd graders through 9th graders.  It's so great to see them all working together, having fun, embracing anyone who wants to play, and just being kids.  Allie likes meeting her little friend and doing the water bucket thing, and I get to chat with my friends too.  So thankful for healthy social, outdoor time during quarantine! 

That's my student driver right there!  Joshua had a great week driving and found it so much easier to drive this little car than the truck and van at home.  He is now a driver's school graduate! Now to wait and practice till October for the permit test.

Big week for these girls at their first sleep-away camp!  We dropped them off Wednesday afternoon and they were pretty excited.  The camp was so nice, clean, and friendly.  It's only 3 nights since they had to split up the camp to reduce group size, so we were so glad it's only an hour and a half away.  They just have 5 kids in each cabin and are keeping kids with their little group for the most part, so we feel good about them still getting to go.  We pick them up Saturday morning.

These guys are veterans but it's their first time at this particular camp.  Looking forward to hearing all their stories tomorrow!

Not pictured:  We celebrated Matt finishing up his job this week...no more night shift!  He starts his new job next week.  Also not pictured, more waiting to see what the rest of the summer (and fall) holds.  With the governor's decision to keep us in "phase 2" and delay a decision about public schools, we are in a holding pattern, waiting to hear about my job (though I was told I will get to start even if it's all online, so that's a relief!), the boys' travel lacrosse games (or not), and when, where, and how the kids will go back to school.  With so many difficult factors in play, I don't envy anyone making decisions right now!